I can be brutally honest which often gets me in to hot water, but I am never disrespectful.
I may be opinionated, but I am more than willing to listen to the opinions of others.
If you have something to say about a book, feel free to say it here - I will.

Pages

September 16, 2013

Promotional Tour and Giveaway: Out of Reach by Jocelyn Stover

You can’t escape who you are, but no one ever stops to explain to you the cost of discovering such knowledge. By the time Gwen learns that her fiery red hair marks her as more than just a bad temper on two legs it’s too late to make a choice. Catapulted into a realm she doesn’t understand thanks to the actions of those around her, Gwen is forced to embrace an unknown legacy and rely on the word of an old friend who is more than he seems. Will the price of self-discovery prove too much for Gwen to bear? And how do you save the world when everything feels just out of reach.

The whole scene, of which I’ve given
you a snippet, was constructed on a whim so I could make light of my favorite
fireman clichés: the calendar and that joke about rescuing cats that have
gotten themselves stuck up a tree (which appears later). My sense of humor is a
little off, I know. What’s even funnier is that after Out of Reach was
published a neighbor of mine made an offhand comment and I was reminded of how
many firemen I actually know! It’s a lot. To set the record straight, while I am
a sucker for the whole uniform thing, Ben isn’t based off of anyone I know.
Sorry to disappoint but this sexy man candy can only be found in the pages of
Out of Reach.

Sigh… meet Ben:

Halfway
through my old-school impression of head banging, I overhear the women next to
me say, “God, I hope he’s in the calendar this year.”

“Yeah,
Mr. February can pay me a house call anytime,” her friend chimes in.

Giggling,
their storm of compliments continues, spreading around the bar like wildfire.
Lifting my head, I run my fingers through the unruly strands of my hair,
smoothing them back into place as best I can after my recent dance exploit. I
don’t even have to glance up into the mirror: I know exactly who those women
are talking about. My fireman has arrived.

Reaching
into my purse, I grab my lip gloss and apply a fresh coat of shine. Sitting up
straight on my stool, I take a deep breath then silently count to three before
gazing into the angled mirror above us.

The
firemen have most certainly arrived, and every woman within spitting distance
of their table is on high alert. While most of them are casually dressed,
sporting jeans and their navy logo t-shirts, a few of them are rocking the
uniform. It’s the work of a moment for my brain to dismiss most of the party
and lock onto to the face of one uniformed man sitting with his back to the
window.

Yes,
his eyes are a soft wintery blue; the woman next to me got that much correct,
but there’s so much more to them than that. From my perch at the bar, I’ve seen
frost in those eyes on occasion and, let me tell you, the reflection of the
winter storm can be just as glorious as the friendly glow they’re exuding tonight.

Shivering
slightly, I hold my breath as my eyes continue to drink him in. He’s
fair-haired with sculpted cheek-bones and lightly bronzed skin (the healthy
kind that comes from spending time outdoors), tall enough that even I have to
tilt my head back a little to look into the splendor of his face. Leanly
muscular but not too bulky, his body moves with the easy grace of an athlete.

Shaking
my head from side to side I sigh, looking down at my beer bottle for
distraction. It goes without saying: I’ve been stalking this fair-haired Viking
god of a man for quite some time. In fact, he’s the reason Melanie started
frequenting The Spotted Dog on Friday nights.

“Here,”
says Melanie, handing me a shot of something. Giggling she says, “You look like
you could use one.”

Holding
her glass up we both smile and simultaneously throw back our drinks. As the
warmth of the alcohol spreads through me, I begin to relax. Melanie and I take
up our familiar pattern of ogling the firemen, people watching, and dancing. Clapping
for the guitarist as he finishes a well-executed solo, my eyes are suddenly
attracted by movement in the mirror above. I see my fireman making his way
toward the bar.

Sensing
him approach along every nerve, I sit stone-still on my stool and stare straight
ahead. He leans up against the bar directly between Melanie and me and proceeds
to order a couple pitchers of beer from José before turning toward me.

“Are
you planning to come over and say hello to the guys tonight?” he asks me.

“No,
not tonight,” I reply as nonchalantly as possible. Stifling a grin, I glance
over into his eyes and ask, “Are you going to dance with me tonight?”

Looking
over at the band he pauses for a moment before directing his gaze back to me
and answering, “No, not tonight.”

Flashing
me that crooked, school-boy grin, he collects his order from José and heads
back to his table.

Laughing
at our by-play Melanie leans closer to be heard above the music and says,
“Smooth, Gwen, real smooth.”

GIVEAWAY

Author Jocelyn Stover is giving away 10 autographed paperback copies of Out of Reach to celebrate the upcoming release of A Step Away (Wanderer Series #2)! As an added bonus, there are LOTS of chances for extra entries!!!

AUTHOR BIOI'm a thoughtful, sarcastic, work-o-holic, mother of four. I must thrive on chaos because I've certainly built enough of it into my life already! I write during the stolen mintures of the day when the children are in bed or at school. When I'm not writing you can find me up to no good with my kiddos, or outside soaking up the sunshine.